Conquering His Cold Heart-Chapter 753 Word reaches Arkheart (2)

Sedrick tossed aside his childish whims, his desire to seek his parent's approval and looked at the strained faces of his supporters.

He was on thin ice, his whole future riding on the support of these old men and women. Without them he was nothing but a powerless Prince refusing to obey the natural order.

"We must do something, that much is clear." He said in a reliable voice, hoping to clear the confusion.

His words had some effect, many nodded their heads in agreement and no longer looked quite so nervous.

"Randolph controls the majority of the Empire's military and government officials. If he claims that Northrend is unable to aid Duke Runak then officially no support will be given….though it pains me to admit it, Randolph is seen by the public as the truest heir, his edicts therefore represent the will of the people."

Much of the masses were still in the dark regarding Randolph's true personality and thus due to Sedrick's previously known behaviour and scandals they supported the supposed golden child, the 1st prince in his claim.

Many members of the ancient families frowned in response knowing full well how the public viewed not only Sedrick but also several of them.

'Fools who know nothing of how the Empire truly works and who are ignorant to the plight of our families.' A few older men and women bemoaned the naivety of the populace.

Though only a few among them could be considered truly good at heart it wasn't as though they didn't face their own problems by being members of these long standing families. Some of which may even justify some of their less than respectable activities.

Centuries ago these families were well respected, they worked hard, toiled and fought for the betterment of Northrend and because of that they were rewarded with riches, territory and ranks of nobility that could be handed down to their descendants without restriction.

As long as they did not betray Northrend, engage in a range of heinous deeds and or severely abuse their station, their title would remain indefinitely.

Alas time was fickle.

As the years passed by more nobles rose and thus conflict ensued, competition over influence, territory, trade and even duty.

Their hallowed tales and records of glory becoming a thing of the past. No longer were they seen as the symbols of nobility, the lofty guardians of the Empire.

Respect dwindled and in its place grew fear, jealously and sometimes hatred.

The royal family fearing their deep seated influence would supress them time and time again, even the recently deposed Emperor who was seen as more lenient and forgiving in comparison to his predecessors was guilty of this suppression.

With Duke Runak as his sword and Duke Cambridge (The former War Marshall of the Royal Guard) as his shield he forced many of their members off their seats of control, reclaiming a substantial chunk of both the foreign and domestic military divisions.

And because of this brutal suppression the ancient families such as house Stewart worked with the underbelly of the Empire and used their remaining influence and vast sums of wealth to fight back, to restrain the Emperor's power thus becoming the very danger in which the ruling family so greatly feared.

Of course the actual situation wasn't quite so black and white, and the ancient families certainly weren't innocent victims in this long standing battle for control.

Both were at fault.

"What do you suggest then Prince Sedrick?" An old woman from house Carlyle asked.

"…..We can't send our soldiers as doing so would not only upset the delicate balance we have with Randolph but could invite censorship and perhaps even justification for his assault upon us."

"Davine how much supplies do you think you can smuggle across the border without being discovered or raided by Randolph's men?" Sedrick looked towards a one-eyed woman wearing a heavy black cloak that masked most of her features.

"….." The woman did some internal calculations before replying. "About 20% of our usual. Randolph's upped his inspections over the past 3 days and will likely increase them again after hearing the news." Davine wasn't all that confident in her once impervious network and thus spoke in a frustrated tone.

So many of her smuggle routes had been dismantled, her subordinates captured or killed. Randolph was really tightening the noose around their necks.

"20%." Sedrick repeated the number with an evident frown, it was too little.

"…..Do what you can, Duke Runak cannot fall, at least not at this juncture." If he fell now the chances of them being able to retake Icethorne anytime soon were practically nil.

"As you command my Prince." Davine acquiesced to the order and immediately began formulating a plan in her head.

"Anyone else got any suggestions?" This was a team effort after all, a problem that involved everyone not just Sedrick, they needed to pull their weight.

There were a few hushed mumbles between the families before someone decided to speak up.

"Since we can't send our soldiers and the amount of supplies that we can send from our end is limited we should use the Enclaves and minor Kingdoms in the External regions." The man who spoke was from house Gratos, a family who had many dealings with the monster nations of the Glacial mountains and was thus quite wealthy even amongst the other ancient families.

"Will they listen to us given the current climate?"

"It's worth a try at least." The Gratos family head responded with some confidence.

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His family and several others dealt with the Enclaves and minor Kingdoms in the Glacial mountains' external regions on a regular basis and thus had built up a fairly healthy relationship with them.

Information was openly shared, trades frequently conducted, and even personal favours were occasionally granted. It was a win-win relationship that had been fostered for years sometimes even decades.

However right now the Northrend Empire and Sedrick's group in particular were seen as unreliable, a risky bet by outsiders.

The civil war between the two brothers made many pull back their support, choosing to wait until the dust cleared to make their moves but now that there was a powerful enemy known as the Glacial mountains liberation alliance knocking on their door the situation changed once again.

Now instead of waiting for the dust to clear these same outsiders were wondering whether or not to kick the wounded dog rather than aid it.

Sedrick was worried about being double crossed by the nations found in the Glacial mountains. Would they simply take his money and ignore the agreement or worse use it to worsen the Duke's already perilous situation.

"Prince Sedrick I've worked with some of these groups for decades and although I can't deny the risk I am certain of one thing." The Gratos family head continued.

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"Oh what's that?" Sedrick asked curious to understand where the man got his confidence.

"If you lack good credit or if the opposing party can't be trusted then you must either have a strong military power or a great deal of wealth to get what you want. We may not have force, but we still have money. No matter how inclined they are to see us fall, money can change even the most stubborn of minds." Throughout his many years of business and interracial relations he always found that money or rather profit reigned supreme in the end.

"…..Hahahahaha that's true."

""Hahahaha"" Sedrick and the others in the room all laughed without restraint, finding the Gratos family head's words very apt.

"We'll go with your suggestion then Margrave Gratos, we'll use our wealth to ensure supplies, information and perhaps even mercenaries reach Icethorne in its time of need." Sedrick was convinced. Money was something they weren't in short supply of, and their cause was not only just but integral to them keeping such levels of wealth.

With their roundabout methods decided upon the group discussed the finer details of the operation i.e. what to send, how much, who to send it and what groups could be trusted most.

"Your Highness we should also request aid from the adventurers guild in your name." Another family head, a man who could only be described as very well-seasoned suggested while stroking his long white beard.

"Hmm, why?" Sedrick didn't exactly have a great relationship with the adventurers guild given his preference to use the underworld and or his own forces in his activities.

They even clashed on more than a few occasions, adventurers taking down a group of assassins or bandits he hired to do a job.

"It's one of the only open schemes in which your brother is powerless to interfere my Prince." The old man explained.

Being a neutral organisation, the adventurers guild wasn't beholden to the Empire. Thus as long as the request wasn't treasonous, doesn't bring direct harm to Northrend or go against the guild's own creed then it would be accepted and offered to the local adventurers.

The old man knew this and wished for Sedrick to take advantage of both the guild's neutrality and their vast supply of manpower.

As long as he put up a lucrative reward then thousands perhaps even tens of thousands of adventurers would flock to his aid.

War requests especially ones against monster nations were always highly desired by the local adventurers.

Just the base rewards alone were quite inviting but it was the extras that always drew them in. Renowned glory, access to usually unattainable materials, political recognition and of course the experience. War was a great opportunity to break through one's limits, to be inspired, to learn, to grow in the heat of battle.

As long as Sedrick played his cards right he could summon a large force that was loyal and independent of Randolph's interference.